Four bad guys swatted in one page! I apologize to those of you that are a Capricorn or Pisces and were hoping that they would be kick ass Zodiac super villains. Alas, we barely got to see Goat Guy or Fish Guy in action. But, man they look good being electrocuted. Fortunately I had a lot of practice drawing people getting electrocuted with Lana being enslaved by the villains. I think I used a different electrical shock effect for almost every time she got zapped. This one is just a “Glow Dodge” layer over the ink and base colors. It’s not my favorite electro-shock, but it works. Also, as promised, more fish-bug-eye.
Good job, jd. spotting Grayhawk in the background last page, cutting Libra’s scales. It wasn’t that difficult a spot check, but I’ll still award you 3 Kick Points. Those are the same wire cutters that Blush used to disable the electricity at the Mayor Death Jester dinner party last chapter. If they ever use those same wire cutters in a close-up in the future, I’m going to put a label on them that say “Property of Kickman, LLC.”
I would have been super-impressed if anyone had managed to spot the cable around Capricorn’s hoof in the last panel last week. Really, it kind of just looks like a decorative ankle ornament so that would have been a near-impossible guess. Some clues are obvious, some are super tough.
Oh, also, experimenting a bit with the artwork this week. I’m just using a bit of a thicker line weight for the character art. I’ve always said my art style is kind of a cross between Silver Age X-Men and The Archies. The thicker line weight leans it a bit more towards the Archie style. Pretend I’m your ophthalmologist and let me know if it looks better, looks worse, or looks the same.
Getting close to the end of this chapter. Since I haven’t had one for a while, there is going to be a secret bonus page at the end. One that you can get access to by spending 10 Kick Points (or by being a Patreon supporter). Thanks everyone for stopping by! See you next week! Unless you also read Java Jaguar in which case I’ll see you Wednesday…
For anyone who is like me, and who couldn’t remember the score and what has happened to the zodiac opponents so far:
Taurus – Friendly Fire
Aries – Friendly Fire
Gemini – Doubled Up
Leo – His pride goeth before a very long fall
Cancer – KLONG
Libra – Snipped & Slapped
Scorpio – Mole-whacked
Sagitarrius – Kicked in the Ash
Capricorn – Baaaaa-zzzzt
Pisces – Fried Fish
Virgo – ???
Aquarius – ???
Oh, crap. I thought they were done. Now I need to finish up the chapter… j/k.
Thanks to Xavier for filling in the handy dandy Zodiac spreadsheet for us. Have 3 Kick Points for your efforts.
The heaver lines look.. better and worse… Cancer panel 5 and Matt panel 6 look too heavy- but Libra panel 3 looks way more tough and menacing. I think the thicker lines work really well with that distinct shading on Libra’s costume. (and that “hollow” eye emphasis is fantastic!)
OK, thanks for feedback. I was trying to use thicker pens for the characters in the foreground, but I think for Grayhawk in panel 6, he’s really only a liiiiittle bit in the foreground compared to Kickman. Probably could have tightened that up.
Fwiw, I think it’s very stylish.
I still think Aquarius should probably be Tsunami-her power set is IDEAL for that, and it makes a good callback to a previous villain.
We will find out next week.